Hawkins hoping to help New England D’

Artrell Hawkins spent last summer in Redskins training camp, but was cut from the squad in late August and was without a job for the next 2-1/2 months.

The Patriots, hurting in the defensive backfield, came calling in November and Hawkins, who switched positions from cornerback to safety when he arrived, helped stabilize a New England secondary shaken by the season-ending injury to Rodney Harrison.

The Patriots re-signed Hawkins in March, and here he is, right in the mix as New England sorts out its 2006 secondary.

“I’m just blessed,” Hawkins said as the Patriots wrapped up practice yesterday afternoon. “I prayed for a second chance and God bless (Pats coach) Bill (Belichick). He’s an unorthodox coach who doesn’t mind bringing in players and flipping them and letting them play where he thinks the team needs them to play.”

Case in point — Eugene Wilson, who started all 16 games at free safety last year, has been working at corner, the position he played in college, early in training camp.

The 29-year-old Hawkins played cornerback his first seven seasons in the NFL and recorded a career-high 76 tackles with the Bengals in 2002. He was a teammate of Patriots running back Corey Dillon for six years in Cincinnati.

Knee injuries hampered Hawkins his last year, 2003, in Cincy and during the 2004 season with the Panthers. A hamstring injury held him back during last year’s preseason.

Hawkins said yesterday it was current Patriots defensive coordinator Dean Pees’ idea to shift him to safety last season. He did play some safety early in his college career at Cincinnati.

Hawkins started six games, including the two playoff games, at strong safety for the Patriots. He did a nice job, recorded 16 tackles, brought a physical presence and steadied the position. After Harrison went down in Week 3, five different players started at strong safety before Hawkins’ arrival. Hawkins missed one game with a shoulder injury.

Hawkins admitted switching positions was a challenge, but rose to it. He said last season, “I regained my love for the game” playing a new position.

Harrison, who suffered a serious knee injury in the game at Pittsburgh last Sept. 25, started camp on the physically unable to perform list. His status and whether or not he will be ready to start the season are both big questions at this point.

If Harrison is not ready, Hawkins, Tebucky Jones and James Sanders will likely battle for the starting job until Harrison can play. Otherwise, they’ll compete to be Harrison’s backup.

“I don’t know the status of what’s going to happen,” Hawkins said, “but I wanted to come in in good shape and contribute early. I wanted to come in with my feet on the ground and running and I think that accomplished that.”

Of course, Hawkins noted, there’s a big difference coming in at the start of training camp than midway through the season like he did last year.

“It’s a lot better being here at the onset when you can sit down and learn everything day to day with everyone as opposed to getting here late and having to play catchup,” Hawkins said. “I’m more comfortable in that sense.”

Hawkins said secondary coach Joel Collier and Pees, who coached the linebackers last season, were very helpful during his transition period.

This offseason, Hawkins worked out with Harrison.

“Rodney has been a big help,” Hawkins said. “I got to pick his brain a little bit this offseason and, more importantly, I just got to be around him, see how he works out and how he approaches the game. That can help me with my approach.”